The present invention relates to shields for mower drives and more specifically relates to shields for drives that are supported by a mower blade housing or deck.
Mower housings or decks normally have shields mounted to the tops thereof for preventing a person from placing his hands into the drive mechanism and for preventing brush and the like from causing drive belts to be damaged or dislodged from their pulleys. These shields are removable to permit accumulation of grass and other debris to be cleaned from beneath the shields and to permit service of the drive mechanisms. The most common method of holding the shields in place is to provide several nuts or bolts, the removal and installation of which is time consuming. A quick-release shield mounting is known which employs a rubber hold-down strap, however, such straps age, lose their resiliency and eventually fail.